The internet has connected the world like nothing before it. Half the world's population now has an internet connection and we are all surfing and posting together as one big happy family. For businesses, this has led to a lot of opportunities. A business that can cater to new languages and offer their services to new markets is going to have a big advantage over their competitors.
If you can market your services and products in new countries, you can just imagine the potential you have to really grow your brand. The following are just some benefits of displaying your website in multiple languages.
Visitors prefer to visit websites that are displayed in their native language
This is fairly obvious but quite understandable. If English was your native language, would you be happy trying to read a website displayed in Italian? Studies have even shown that more than half of consumers value visiting a site in their own language over the price of the products or services being offered. They would pay more to get the same product from a website displayed in their native language!
Multilingual websites build trust
If you cannot read the product descriptions, for example, would you trust a website enough to purchase the product? Many would not, so by offering your website in numerous languages, you will build trust with others and increase sales at the same time. Take vpnveteran.com/it for example!
Additionally, when people see that you have catered to their language, they can tell that you are customer focused.
Gives you the ability to expand your target audience
Every new language that you add to your website opens up your products and services to people that speak those languages. Displayed in English, you can obviously target people in the UK, Australia, USA, and potentially other countries where English is a second language.
However, by adding Spanish you can immediately open up your products for people in Spain and all across Latin America. French would give you access to France, Canada, Monaco, and a large number of African countries.
What to Do When Implementing a Multilingual Website
If you have decided that you are now ready to offer your website to speakers of other languages, there are a few tips that we suggest you follow.
● Keep languages on separate pages. Do not try to have multiple languages on each page.
● Make it easy for visitors to change the current language. Ensure your button is clearly visible at the top of each page and use national flags to represent the languages they can choose from.
● Hiring good translators is important. Do not get lazy and use online translation apps such as Google. Only a native speaker will be able to ensure that grammar is perfect in their language.
Do remember that this process could cost quite a lot depending on how many languages you want to use and how many pages of content you need translating. If the budget is tight, perhaps do them one at a time. This way, you can also gauge the success that each new language is having on your bottom line.
Summary
It might sound a little straightforward but actually you will need to put more thought into which markets you want to expand into. It will not just be a case of adding tons of languages and watching the money roll in. You have to be sure that your brand fits into the many different cultures. Your marketing will also have to be localized to see the best benefits.
Still, if you can develop a solid marketing strategy off the back of a multilingual website, you really could start to endear your brand to new markets across the globe.